No Time to Die: Rami Malek says Freddie Mercury inspired Bond villain role

Actor won Oscar for playing Queen frontman in 2019

Rami Malek has revealed that Freddie Mercury was a major influence on how he portrays the villain in the forthcoming Bond movie No Time to Die.

Malek, who won an Oscar for playing the Queen frontman in 2018’s Bohemian Rhapsody, said that he deliberately didn’t want to emulate previous Bond villains in the film.

“If I went in there and tried to make a carbon copy of someone, what joy or fun would that be for anybody?” he told Empire Magazine.

He added, “I guess that may be a lesson I learned from Mr Mercury.”

“If it’s not original, then why bother?” he continued. “I’ve pocketed some things from some of my favourites. But I tried to, every day, imbue this character with something I thought made sense for the character, but might also at the same time be shocking and unnerving.”

Malek also revealed that he developed a specific voice for his Bond character with assistance from the same vocal coach that helped him embody Mercury.

The Mr Robot star portrays Safin in No Time to Die, a villain who wears a porcelain mask over half of his face.

No Time to Die, which marks Daniel Craig’s final appearance as 007, is released in cinemas on 2 April.